Douglas Marley (Edward Bunker), patriarch of the Marley family, is a stern disciplinarian, while his wife, Linda (Pamela Bellwood), remains an emotionally shattered shut-in unable to cope with their brilliant yet troubled son, Brian (Tim Redwine), who teeters on the edge of sanity. In an effort to reach their son one last time, the Marleys hire a pretty young widow, Mary Drake (Angela Jones), to serve as the boy's live-in tutor.